TITLE OF PAPER

Post, Comment, Read, Help, Like:
The Facebook Group in the Foreign Language Classroom
Manfred Sablotny
Department of Foreign Languages and Literature, Tunghai University (Taiwan)
[email protected]
Abstract
While social media are nothing new anymore in the foreign language classroom, their integration into
existing classroom structures as a supplement to more traditional in-class activities still often
constitutes a challenge to both teacher and student. This paper will take a look at the possibilities that
the Facebook group function has to offer for the foreign language classroom. The author will share his
experiences with using Facebook in German courses at a university in Taiwan to illustrate how social
media can be used to practice foreign language skills and broaden the scope of foreign language
contact, while engaging in meaningful conversation with others. In the case at hand, students with
varying levels of experience with German were registered as members of a Facebook group which
had been created for the specific purpose of enhancing the learning experience. In order to achieve
close integration with the in-class syllabus, guidelines and basic rules for interaction in the group were
established and students were asked to document their group activities and submit them for
evaluation on a regular basis. The paper will discuss both benefits and challenges encountered while
using Facebook as a social teaching and learning tool.
1. Facebook in educational settings
With e-learning tools in the form of applications on mobile devices and desktop computers more and
more gaining popularity among foreign language learners, educators in institutionalized language
instruction are increasingly facing the challenge
(…) to incorporate useful and versatile e-tools that will enhance the quality of their classrooms,
guide learners to utilizing various e-tools for academic purposes, create a dynamic learning
environment, and promote critical thinking, authentic second language (L2) learning
opportunities and deeper connections with the culture of the native L2 speakers [1].
Facebook groups have been used in a wide variety of settings and for various educational purposes.
In their extensive literature review, Kandroudi and Bratitsis [2] find that three categories of Facebook
usage can be distinguished in educational settings:
1. social use, i.e. communication, interaction or creation of new friendships among students
and teachers,
2. academic use, i.e. Facebook serving as a supporting learning platform for students and
teachers, and
3. other uses, like announcements, information sharing, and organizational issues.
4.
The potential for collaborative learning is probably one of the aspects covered most widely in the
literature [3-5], and it is this potential in particular which makes Facebook a good choice for the foreign
language classroom with its specific needs relating to language, culture, interpersonal relations, and
skills of various kinds. There are four areas corresponding to these needs, where Facebook has been
shown to have the potential to support the teaching and learning of foreign languages:
1.
2.
3.
4.
target language awareness,
cross-cultural awareness,
instructor-learner relations, and
instructors' professional development [6].
However, as with any classroom tool, Facebook can only be used beneficially and become a true
asset rather than a burden if it fits into the overall framework of a given classroom setting.
2. A Facebook group for German
The following discussion is based on the situation at a university in central Taiwan, where students of
all departments can take German as a second foreign language in the form of year-long German I, II,
and III courses covering the A1 and A2 levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages (CEFR)[7]. Classes consist of three hours of instruction per week, with class sizes varying
between 15 and 50 students. The textbooks used are Studio 21 (A1) and Studio d (A2) [8, 9].
The most obvious reason for using Facebook instead of simply setting up a discussion forum in the
school’s e-learning platform was the ubiquity of Facebook in our students' social life. With so many
students constantly online, liking, chatting, posting and commenting whenever there is an opportunity,
why not use their enthusiasm for Facebook for the German classroom? A closed Facebook group
offered a safe environment for a meaningful exchange in the target language; through it German could
become a natural part of student life in a society where for most people foreign languages other than
English, Japanese and Korean do not play a role at all. Facebook allowed participants to share
authentic material in the form of text, music, pictures and video contents. Its visual aspect appealed to
students and facilitated language learning and instruction processes. New words and concepts easily
became clear with a corresponding picture. Then, there was the opportunity of making new friends
and creating networks among group members. Students planning a summer trip to Germany could
use Facebook to ask for help from more experienced travelers about visa requirements, budget
accommodation, best tourist sites, transport options or local food.
The Facebook group for German was established as a closed group in 2011 by a student of the
author. Currently it has a membership of 459, including current and former students and the author. At
the time of writing this article four classes are using the Facebook group as part of the curriculum
activities. Originally, the group was set up as an open platform for students to share anything related
to the study of German. Posts and comments could be made in German, English, or Chinese, and all
group members were able to add new members to the group. Student work on Facebook was not
included in the semester grades. The instructor posted learning tips, homework reminders, and
internet links, made announcements about upcoming events, explained course contents, conducted
surveys, and provided extra class materials to download, while students shared internet links they
found helpful or interesting, practiced new German vocabulary, asked questions, and commented on
posts by others.
In order to streamline and give structure to the group activities, student participation became an
integral part of the grading matrix starting with the 2013 academic year, and students were required to
put up at least one post related to a specific topic decided by the instructor every two weeks and
comment on at least two posts by other students. Posts and comments had to be made in German,
and twice per semester a documentation of these activities in the group had to be submitted for
grading in the form of a MS-Word file based on a template provided by the instructor.
In order to enhance collaboration and exchange between the different groups, starting with the 2014
academic year, more advanced students were asked to comment on beginners’ posts. Thus, German
III students now try their best to help German II students, while German II students help German I
students. This means that about 80% of the students currently enrolled in the participating courses are
able to benefit from the help of their peers. For the more advanced students of German III, who make
up the remaining 20%, the instructor provides comments, corrections and suggestions on a regular
basis. By helping lower level students, the more advanced groups also have the opportunity to review
class contents and deepen their understanding of the vocabulary and grammar structures they already
encountered before.
3. Topics
The main idea behind the decision of setting up basic requirements for the Facebook group was to
help students develop their language skills by giving them clearly defined tasks, focusing on specific
topics, vocabulary or syntactic structures related to the contents currently taught in class. At the same
time these requirements were meant to facilitate assessment of students' online activities. The topics
to be addressed by the students were generally announced at the beginning of each two-week period
and usually followed the textbook progression of the respective course levels [8, 9]. Table 1 shows
some examples of the topics chosen for the first semester.
Week
1-2
German I
German II


ich (I)
Kaffee oder Tee
(Coffee or tea)



Im Café (In a
café)


In der Tasche (In
the bag)

3-4
5-6
7-8
9

10-11

12-13
EXAMS
Städte und
Sprachen (Cities
and languages)
TV-Serien (TV
series)



Studentenleben
(Student life)


Wohnen in
Taichung (Living
in Taichung)

14-15
16-17
18
EXAMS
German III
Freunde (friends)
Sehenswürdigkeiten in
Taiwan (Tourist sites in
Taiwan)
Sehenswürdigkeiten in Berlin
(Tourist sites in Berlin)


Mein Hauptfach (My major)
Tipps zum Deutschlernen (Tips
for learning German)

Urlaub + Perfekt (Vacation,
using the "perfekt" tense)

Mehrsprachigkeit oder Englisch
für alle? (Multilingualism or
English for all?)
Was macht Ihnen keinen/viel/am
meisten Spaß? (What do you
enjoy doing?)
EXAMS
Ich freue mich, dass ..., denn ... (I
am glad that ..., because ...)
EXAMS
Schokolade + Perfekt
(Chocolate, using the
"perfekt" tense)
Lebensmittel einkaufen in
Taichung (Buying groceries
in Taichung)
Was braucht man für Ihr
Lieblingsrezept (What do you
need for your favorite
recipe?)
Frühstück - Was essen Sie
oft/gern/nicht so gern/nie?
(Breakfast - likes and
dislikes)




EXAMS
Was mich an Taichung stört und
was ich gut finde (Things that
annoy me about Taichung and
things I like)
Vermutungen über die Zukunft Was glauben Sie und warum?
(Conjectures about the future What do you think and why?)
"sollen" - Das hört man in
taiwanischen
Familien
(The
modal verb "sollen" - what
Taiwanese families expect of their
children)
EXAMS
Table 1: 1st semester topics
To help students get a clearer understanding of what was expected of them, topic announcements
were usually accompanied by one or two examples of possible posts.
Reference Sample
German III
Week 14-15
Ich studiere Mathematik an der Tunghai Universität in Taichung. Ich habe 22 Stunden Unterricht
pro Woche. Das ist nicht wenig. Ich muss viel lesen und viele Hausaufgaben machen. Abends
arbeite ich gern in der Bibliothek. Da ist es ruhig und ich kann dort auch meine E-Mails lesen.
Ich finde, Mathematik macht Spaß.
Ich wohne im Studentenwohnheim. Wir sind vier Studenten/Studentinnen in unserem Zimmer.
Das Zimmer ist 16 qm groß. Ich finde das Zimmer sehr klein, aber meine
Mitbewohner/Mitbewohnerinnen sind sehr nett. Unser Wohnheim ist schon sehr alt, und es liegt
sehr ruhig. Hier kann man auch gut arbeiten.
Ich esse am liebsten Bratkartoffeln mit Spinat und Spiegelei. Für das Rezept braucht man 500
Gramm Kartoffeln, Wasser, 250 Gramm Spinat, zwei Eier, etwas Salz, Wasser, Pfeffer und
Muskatnuss.
Zum Frühstück esse ich gern "salzige" Sojamilchsuppe mit Zwiebeln, Koriander und frittiertem
Gebäck. Dazu esse ich oft mit Fleisch gefüllte Teigbällchen oder einen Eierpfannkuchen.
Manchmal esse ich auch Toast mit Ei, Schinken und Käse. Samstags hole ich mir oft Onigiri.
Das sind gewürzte Reisbälle mit Gemüse oder Fleisch. Bei mir um die Ecke gibt es einen Stand.
Das ist sehr praktisch.
Ich glaube, dass wir in 20 Jahren keine Universitäten und auch keine Bücher mehr brauchen,
denn dann lernen und lesen wir alle nur noch online.
German III
Week 16-17
Die Kinder in Taiwan müssen auf ihre Eltern hören. Die Eltern sagen oft, dass die Kinder ihre
Zimmer aufräumen sollen. Die Kinder sollen das Essen aufessen, sie sollen leise sein und nicht
so lange fernsehen, denn die Eltern sagen, dass das nicht gut für die Augen ist.
German I
Week 14-15
German I
Week 16-17
German II
Week 14-15
German II
Week 16-17
Table 2: Reference samples for weeks 14-17
4. Current challenges and outlook
For all the linguistic, cultural, and interpersonal benefits of using Facebook's group function in the
foreign language classroom, there are also challenges that will need to be addressed in the future. A
very limited number of students fully realize the potential of the group by regular participation in group
conversations, and some seem to only make a few brief cameo appearances towards the end of
deadlines so as to fulfill the basic requirements. What can we do to make students become active
members of the group, and how can we keep them involved over the semester beyond the mere
scope of the assignment? How can we identify inactive students early on and remind them of the task
at hand before it is too late? As mentioned above, not all posts are free from error. What is the best
way to deal will grammar and word usage mistakes without negatively affecting student confidence
and motivation?
While experience shows that it is helpful to bring up and discuss these issues in class, the syllabus
does not always leave enough time to do so, and apart from the student documentation handed in
twice per semester, it is almost impossible for the instructor to keep track of each individual student’s
performance in the Facebook group. There is certainly no standard solution for meeting these
challenges, and whatever measures we take, they will have to be geared to the specific needs of the
given context. For the scenario described in this text, it might be helpful to hire a part-time assistant, a
German speaker, to monitor student activities, contact inactive students, check for mistakes and take
remedial action in a way suitable to the needs of the participants. To avoid late submissions of posts
and comments and keep students consistently involved over the semester, eight instead of two
deadlines could be set up for students to hand in their written documentation, and students could be
given extra points for additional posts and comments.
It is hoped that in the future the scope of benefits for the German classroom can be extended. Thus,
there are currently plans to strengthen the learning by teaching aspect of the group, to develop
mutually beneficial collaboration opportunities between students and teachers in training, and to
organize special events with guest members sharing their expertise in fields of interest to the students,
like German music, food, and traveling. These measures, it is expected, will contribute to making the
Facebook group for German an even more rewarding experience for both teachers and students.
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